Improvement in harvester-cutters



w. MCKEEVER. Harvester-Gutters.l No. 137,705 ParentedAp'rilsmss.

LTNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM MGKEEVER, OF STAUNTON, VIRGINIA.

IMPROVEMENT lN HARVESTER-CUTTERS.

'Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 137,705, dated April 8, 1873; application filed i February 14, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MCKEEVEE, of Staunton, in the county of Augusta and State of Virginia, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Gutters for Harvesters 5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a plan View; Fig. 2, a vertical section through cutter-blade and cutter-bar. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective View of my irnproved blade or cutter. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of my spacer.

The invention consists in constructing and applying harvestercutters to their holder, as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawing, Arepresents the cutter-bar of a harvester 5 B, the cutter-blades; C, the spacers; D, the head; and E, the screw. The cutter-blade B is provided with the side angles or wings b b to enable it to be locked conveniently, and with the turned shank b to enable it to be removed readily from the cutterbar. It is locked to the cutter-bar by means of the intermediate and end spacers U, which are forced inside the wings b b by the screw E. By withdrawing this screw a short distance, so that the spacer may clear the wing, one of the blades can be taken out and replaced in a very few minutes. There is thus no delay for sharpening when a stone strikes a blade or other accident occurs thereto.

The blade is cut with a die out of a plate of the exact shape desired, and the shank then turned, as shown in Fig. 3 of drawing. This enables me to manufacture and supply these blades very cheaply.

The spacers O are simply cut from tubes of a diameter a little larger than the breadth of the cutter-bar A. These are then flattened or rendered oblong by placing them on a mandrel corresponding to the cutter-bar in size a-nd shape, to which they are pressed by rolls or otherwise. These, also, can therefore be furnished at a very trifling expense.

The cutter-barA is made round or correspondingly shaped on each of the sides a a, so that my cutter-blades can be reversed and be adapted to cut with a right or left handed harvester. A

The application is as follows: A series of cutter-blades with a spacer, (l, between every two, and with one at each end, is inserted on the cutter-bar, and all are forced up and locked rigidly together by the screw E, which works through the head D.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A cutter-blade constructed with a bent shank, b', and the side wings b b, as described, to enable it to be locked by sliding up spacers behind said wings, and to allow each knife to be removed without taking off any of the others.

2. The combination of cutter-bar A a and spacers G with the cutter-blades B b b, as described, so that the cutters may be reversed to work in a right or left handed machine.

3. The combination, with cutter-barA a, spacer C, and cutters B b b', of the screw Ev working through a head, D, as described, to lock the cutters, in the manner specified..

W. MCKEEVER.

Witnesses:

THos. D. D. OURAND, GHAs. A. PETTIT. 

